The secrets we keep
by Michel Divigne
Summary: With the world under threat yet again, Nick Fury initiates Project Snow. A highly confidential project that may or may not aid the Avengers when their strength is put to the test. Takes place after the first Avengers movie. Potential Steve/OC.
1. Chapter 1: Project snow

Chapter 1: Project Snow

When genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist Tony Stark stated that Fury's secrets have secrets, he didn't know exactly how deep those secrets went.

Agent Nick Fury director of S.H.I.E.L.D has many secrets, secrets buried under mountains of encryptions and built upon a river of lies. None so much as Project Snow. The only people who have the level of clearance to even hear the name are either dead or the director of S.H.I. . In other words very few people alive knew of its existence. Project Snow came into fruition just after the establishment of S.H.I. . at the end of world war 2. It was their first mission, and is still ongoing. Nick Fury himself only found out when his superior chose him as his successor, even then it took him years to gain full access to the information. When the world was once again under threat, and with the council breathing down his neck, Nick Fury launched Project Snow for the first time in sixty-six years.

* * *

Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton had a field day. They had just completed an assignment in Venice and were taking a leisurely stroll through St. Mark's square.

"Something's going to happen soon." Natasha stated looping her arm through Clint's as he quirked an eyebrow at the action. "It's been a while since the attack on New York and we haven't heard anything from Thor since he took Loki back to Asguard. Stop looking at me like that Barton," snapped Natasha unhooking her arm from Clint's. "Don't you feel like this is the calm before the storm?"

"A very large storm," Clint agreed. "And don't think I haven't noticed how stiff Fury's gotten, I mean more stiff then his usual stiffness." Clint shrugged and continued walking. "There's not much we can do if the pirate doesn't want us to know." Natasha slapped Clint's arm but still smirked slightly at the name.

"I guess we'll have to wait to find out." She said just as two men in suits walked up to them.

"Agent Romanoff, agent Barton," addressed one of the men. " I am agent Wilson and this is agent Connors, we are here to escort you back to the helicarrier. Director Fury's orders."

"Did he say why he needed us?" Questioned Natasha.

"He said to tell you, Avengers assemble."


	2. Chapter 2: Let the show begin

Chapter 2: Let the show begin

Tony Stark was lounging on one of his many couches in the science lab enjoying a nice glass of whiskey when the call came.

"Sir, there is a call from director Fury on line two." Came the automated voice of JARVIS, Tony's artificial intelligence butler. Bruce glanced up from the paper on astrophysics he was currently reading and shot him a questioning gaze. After the alien invasion last year Bruce had taken up Tony's offer to stay at Stark Tower, or as Tony had taken to calling it, the Avenger's Tower. Knowing Tony would only irritate the director with his childishly aloof behavior he sent him a 'don't-you-dare' look he had learned from Pepper.

With a sigh Tony decided to placate the director instead of toying with his patience like he usually did. If the dictator himself was calling it must be pretty important. "Patch him through JARVIS."

"Stark." Greeted Fury.

"Yes patches, how may I be of service?" Tony replied in a slightly mocking tone, ignoring the piercing glare of Banner. You can't say he didn't try to play nice it's just not in his nature. "In need of my expertise so soon? I thought you had agents to take care of you, or were they not good enough?" He could almost see the twitch of Fury's eyebrows and opened his mouth to continue. Fury cut him off before he had the chance to prod any further.

"Avengers are being called to assemble." Tony's glass froze midway to his mouth. Well, that was unexpected. He looked over to Bruce and could see his shock mirrored on the other man's face. 'So soon?' Bruce mouthed. Tony just shrugged.

"I've sent some agents to come pick up you and Dr. Banner, they should be there shortly." With that the call ended.

The shocked silence was cut short by JARVIS. "Sir there is an agent Smith and an agent Fenton waiting in the lobby, they request the presence of you and Mr. Banner immediately."

"Well that was quick," said Tony. Bruce snorted and pushed himself up from the couch.

"We better get going then, we don't want to piss Director Fury off more than you already have." Replied Bruce with a smirk. Tony looked affronted, "I resemble that!" He replied as they entered the elevator and shot down towards the lobby.

There were indeed two crisp looking agents waiting to greet them. The pair stood ramrod straight, their faces schooled into blank masks. Tony strode up to them and threw his arms around their shoulders as if they were old pals reuniting after a long absence. The female turned her head slightly at the action and in a monotone voice said, "Unless you want to be tasered and dragged there with a bag over your head I would suggest removing your arms." The color drained from Tony's face and he quickly removed his arms. He could hear Bruce chuckling in the background and huffed.

They stepped outside as a sleek black Sedan with tinted windows pulled up in front of the tower. The male agent opened the side door and gestured for them to get in. As soon as they were secure the car peeled off and headed out of the city, towards a quinjet that would take them up to the helicarrier.

"Let the show begin." Said Tony with a theatrical wave of his hands.


	3. Chapter 3: Bets

Disclaimer: I, sadly, own nothing except my OC's, one of which will be introduced soon!

* * *

Steve Rogers was standing patiently by his motorcycle when they pulled up beside the waiting quinjet. As Bruce and Tony stepped out onto the tarmac they were met with a wave of summer heat radiating off its black surface, quickly coating their foreheads in a thin sheen of sweat. Tony slid down his sunglasses and adjusted his suit smartly. That image was all but ruined when he opened his mouth.

"I'm surprised you haven't melted yet capsicle," quipped Tony. Steve's jaw flexed but his composure didn't break, even under the intense heat. Tony was slightly ticked off that Mr. Super Serum didn't seem to be sweating when the rest of them were all drenched like stuck pigs. Well, all of them excluding the agents, though he wasn't sure if they were even human, he made a mental note to check that out later.

"Dr. Banner, nice to see you-"

"What, aren't you happy to see me too spangles?" Whined Tony.

"-I hope this nutcase hasn't driven you around the bend yet," Steve continued as though he wasn't interrupted. "I don't know how you can stand him. The rest of the team can barely hold back from strangling him for five minutes."

Bruce flashed Steve a timid grin. "Meditation, and lots of years of practice. Compared to the 'other guy' he's nothing."

"If you ladies are done," grumbled Tony. "I believe an air-conditioned jet and some pissed off agents are calling." He strode off towards the quinjet as Steve and Bruce fell into step behind him. Bruce tried to subtly slipped Steve a $10 bill behind Tony's back.

"Don't think I didn't see that!" Shouted Stark over his shoulder.

"How did he…?" Steve began but trailed off not knowing how to finish.

"I've given up trying to figure it out." Replied Bruce with a shrug. "He's got to be called a genius for something." Steve chuckled as they entered the cool confines of the quinjet.

Soon enough they were in the air and the two scientists began babbling about something or other, it wasn't too long before Steve was helplessly lost. After a while he decided to tune them out, realizing that he was once again out of his depth. He was slowly adjusting to the twenty-first century, but it was harder than he had initially thought it would be. Everything had changed so much, there was little of the America he once knew and loved. Everything was so bright and fast, changing so quickly that it made his head spin. He tried, he really did, but it was hard to come to terms that everything and almost everybody he knew was gone. To him it seemed like the blink of an eye, one second there, then gone the next. He did his best to hide his confusion and troubles from his teammates. He didn't want to bother them with trivial things like learning how to use the television remote or how to operate a cell phone. Captain America is supposed to be a strong leader, someone who people look up to, who is always there to help. He's not supposed to be the one needing help.

"Hey capsicle, you in there?" Steve blinks when he sees a pair of fingers snapping in front of his eyes. He looks over to see Tony grinning. "We're about to land, I would recommend waking up from whatever little fantasy world you were stuck in. Did it have hot girls," Tony questions and his grin stretches wider when he sees a dusting of pink on Steve's cheeks. "Oh, never mind I forgot Captain purity over here doesn't dream those dreams. His are probably filled with stars, stripes and eagles, am I right?" Bruce sends him an apologetic look as Tony bursts out laughing. His laughing is cut short when the quinjet's hatch begins to open, sunlight streaming in. They step outside, shielding their eyes from the sun's glare. When their eyes adjust they are met with the sight of two of their other teammates.

"Does anybody know why Fury called in the Avengers?" Asks Barton with a glance at Tony.

"If you're asking if I found anything through hacking into S.H.I.E.L.D's flimsy-"

"Get to the point Stark." Growled Natasha threateningly. For the second time that day the color visibly drained from Tony's face. Bruce thought he heard a mumbled 'damn women agents.' And shot Tony a warning look.

Tony coughed before replying with a quiet. "No." Natasha and Clint both shot him a disbelieving look. "What, you can't expect me to know everything, or for Fury to keep all his secrets on one database."

"But weren't you just saying how flimsy S.H.I.E.L.D's security systems are?" Barton said smugly. Tony shot him a glare before turning on his heel and stalking off. Bruce handed over $10 to Clint with a deflated look.

Clint grinned, "You better stop betting against us buddy." He too made his way to the helicarrier's lower decks, the rest of them trailing behind. Everyone's thoughts were centered around one topic as they made their way to the main operating deck. What posed such a great threat that Fury deemed it necessary to call in the Avengers? What did their future hold?


	4. Chapter 4: Initiate

Hey guys! I'm so sorry for not posting, I've been out sick. :( Anyway, you will be introduced to my OC at the beginning of the chapter. (in case it's confusing.) Thanks, and I own nothing except my OC's.

* * *

The slow dripping of water against metal woke me from my sleep. I groaned and rolled on to my side draping my arm across my eyes. A cool breeze blew under my blanket tickling at my exposed back making me shiver. I snuggled deeper into my warm cover preparing to fall back to sleep when I heard a knock at my door. I contemplated whether or not I should answer and decided I would, it had been months since I had actually _seen _another human being. Everyone had been too preoccupied with the end of the world, or so I've heard, to bother with me. It gave me a, much needed, respite from the testing and training. I was by no means unfit don't get me wrong, it just felt nice not to have a whole bunch of needles and tubes poking at me.

I arched my back, earning a satisfying pop, and went to answer the door. I punched in a set of keys and heard the many bolts and tumblers sliding out of place. I twisted the knob and found myself face to face with Director Fury himself. I matched his glare with a cold stare of my own.

"What do you want," I said icily. "Can't you see I'm _sooo_ busy down here, there's been a _rush_ of customers begging for my help. Now if you'll excuse me." I turned to slam the door in his face but his foot blocked my path.

"I know that you're upset. I didn't let you out for your own safety, believe me it was for your own good." I huffed studying his face and cut in, "That's not what you're here for, is it?" I asked curious. He seemed nervous, well as nervous as Fury got, and hesitant. He sighed,

"No. It's not." He paused, for dramatic effect or out of indecision I couldn't tell. "We're initiating Project Snow." My head snapped up, shocked. No way, there is no way Fury would ever- "We leave now."

* * *

Natasha, Clint, Bruce, Steve and Tony were all waiting in the debriefing room. They had been there for twenty minutes and were beginning to become impatient. Fury was nowhere to be seen but agent Hill had informed them that he should be arriving shortly. Suddenly Tony stood up, a mischievous gin creeping onto his face.

"Tony, what are you thinking?" Asked Steve warily. Tony rolled his eyes and looked at the rest of the team-minus Thor-. "Aren't you all curious? Fury called us here, telling us that it was 'urgent business'" Tony made air quotes with his fingers, "and yet here we are, waiting for him to turn up."

"Yeaaah." Clint drawled, "so?"

"_So _he's got to be hiding something! Did he tell any of you why we were here other than the Avengers are assembling. Natasha?" The female agent shook her head in a negative. Tony turned to the archer, "Clint?" he also shook his head in a no. "If Fury doesn't tell his top two agents, who he tells almost everything to before the rest of us, what does that mean? What is so important that he couldn't tell _them_. What's his secret?" He made his way over to the computers at the head of the table.

"Tony, what are you going to do?" Bruce asked hesitantly. Tony smirked, "I intend to find out." He replied. He inserted a USB stick into one of the empty ports and began to hack into S.H.I.E.L.D's system. Nobody on the team made a move to stop him, not even Steve. Though he did have an uncomfortable look on his face.

Tony glanced up and noticed Steve's discomfort. "Lighten up capsicle, it's not like we were ordered to not look into the mission, or whatever."

"Yeah, but you were ordered to not hack into S.H.I.E.L.D's databases again," replied Steve.

"You can't tell me you aren't curious as to what the Director's hiding?" Tony said in mock horror. "I mean, after they kept the HYDRA weapons from you-"

"Enough." Steve said with a growl.

"Oooh did I hit a nerve spangles?" Tony mocked. He opened his mouth to continue but was cut off by loud beeping and flashing red lights emanating from the computer screen. "You have got to be joking!" He exclaimed while frantically removing the USB drive.

"What is it Stark, too much for you to handle?" Natasha asked with a smirk.

Tony glanced up at Natasha with a serious look, "This is odd. Everything other file has been successfully accessed, but this file has more protection than Fort Knox! It even began to destroy my hacking software, which should be near impossible. Especially considering the level of protection on everything else." Now he had everyone's attention. If _the_ Tony Stark couldn't hack into a file, than there was definitely something to hide. Their thoughts were interrupted by the sound of approaching footsteps.


	5. Chapter 5: Artemis

**Okay, we delve more into my OC, who's name you do find out in this chapter. To avoid confusion, the first two sections are from the perspective of my OC. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except the characters of my own imagination. :(**

* * *

I stared at Fury mouth agape, in all my years working here I never, and I mean _never, _thought I'd hear those words. Especially coming from him. He glanced at me a smirk making it's way onto his face.

"Close you're mouth, we don't need anymore flies buzzing around in your head."

"Hey!" I retaliated closing my mouth with an audible snap. "Are you sure about this, I mean, I've never actually tried you know…anything with an actual human. Not since _then_. I don't know if I'm ready for this." I looked down nervously shuffling from foot to foot. As much as I wanted out, I wasn't sure I was prepared.

Fury's gruff voice cut into my musings. "You have no choice." He stated firmly. "You are first and foremost a soldier, do not forget that. But don't let it overpower you when it comes to those you care for. When the time comes, and it will come, you must confront your fears. Face them head on knowing that they are simply a construct of your brain, you can't fully fear what you don't face." With that we began our trek out of the underground compound. We made our way through tight security, stopping from time to time allowing Fury to disarm the many traps set up to keep people out, and me in. Not passing a single living soul, human or other. As we stepped onto a waiting jet I was met with a hard faced female agent.

"_That_ is the weapon?" Asked the agent, a slightly incredulous tone leaking into her voice. Fury fixed her with a hard stare, his eyes meeting hers halfway. She searched his eyes and seemed to find what she was looking for. The agent nodded subtly, so lightly that an eye untrained to look for it would not notice the exchange.

"Yes, _she_ is." I said with slight hostility.

She turned to me, "Agent Maria Hill."

"Artemis."

* * *

We made it to the helicarrier without a hitch and proceeded to a small conference room slightly removed from the rest. I could feel the eyes of the agents we passed boring into my back, many had confusion etched on their features. They all gave us a wide berth, I didn't blame them, my appearance unnerved most people I had met. I almost laughed, key word, almost. My many walls had come firmly back into place, securing my face in an emotionless mask. If Fury noticed he didn't say anything.

"I will inform the Avengers that you will be there shortly." Said Agent Hill then walked briskly off in the opposite direction. I waited until the door had shut to speak, I then unleashed my flurry of questions. His only response was to hand me a tablet with a glowing screen.

"You have half an hour to familiarize yourself with the information."

I scoffed. "You expect me to catch up on sixty plus years within half an hour? You have got to be joking, I'll be done in ten." I plopped down on one of the office chairs that surrounded an ovular table set in the center of the room and set to work. I scanned through files upon files on the Avengers initiative, the participants, the alien invasion and the tesseract. I learned about their individual weaknesses and strong points. On what they could improve and what I could help them with. True to my word I was done within ten minutes, I spent the remainder of my time learning about the new world and it's technology as well as its history. I was impressed by the developments and saddened by the wars that continued to rage on throughout the world. The poverty, scandals and corruption, oh how the world had changed. For better or for worse I can't yet tell.

* * *

The door to the debriefing room hissed open as Tony darted back to his seat. The team collectively looked up at the Director as he entered. He strode up to the front of the room before turning to face the group of gathered heroes.

"You might not like what you find when you look too deep," Fury said gazing fixedly at Stark. Tony had the decency to look slightly abashed, but the moment passed quickly.

"Director," addressed Natasha. "Why are we here?"

Fury sighed knowing he couldn't put it off any longer his decision was made. "I want you to swear on your grave that none of what I'm about to tell you leaves this room." Tony whistled under his breath raising his eyebrows in surprise.

"What could possibly be so serious that you would make me swear on my grave?" He inquired.

"If you don't swear you'll be meeting your grave sooner than later." Replied Fury with a scowl. Tony raised his hands in mock surrender.

"I swear." Said Natasha. A chorus of 'me too' was heard, Tony huffed but gave into his curiosity and agreed.

Fury turned to his computer and opened a file. "This is what you were looking for Stark." The file showed the bare minimum of information, all of it was blacked out save the title; Project Snow.

"Okaaay…" droned Tony. "I don't see how this helps."

Fury turned his attention back to the team, facing their confused looks. "This is a top secret project, known only to a few. The details will not be delved into, you are expected respect this regulation. The only people who are privilege to this information are either in this room or Agent Hill. Which she was informed only quite recently and is not open to the information I will be sharing with you." Fury paused taking a carful look at the heroes. They all looked slightly shell-shocked save for Natasha and Clint who looked only slightly disturbed that they hadn't been informed. He turned to the door at the end of the room, "You can come in now, I know you've been listening."

**I know, I know I just didn't want to rush into things! In the next chapter there will be some Avengers and Artemis interaction. Some constructive reviews, or any, would be much appreciated. It motivates me to write more! Yay :) Thank you all,**

**Michel Divigne**


	6. Chapter 6: Surprise

**Happy mother's day to one and all! I hope you all have a wonderful day! Here is the next chapter, Artemis meets the Avengers, let's see how it goes. **

**Quick note: I would like to thank ****Fire Skyrim**** for reviewing as well as the guest and all those who favorited and followed the story! I love you guys! **

**Also, unless indicated otherwise the story will be told from the perspective of Artemis.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except the fruit of my own imagination. :)**

* * *

The female agent from before, Maria Hill, came to get me at the half hour mark. The door slid open silently, she waited for me to look up before speaking.

"Did you familiarize yourself with the information adequately?" She asked in a slightly accusatory tone. She seemed mad at me, but what could I have done, I had only just met the woman.

When I didn't answer she continued, "I can ask the _Director_ if he can grant you more time." Oh, I get it. She didn't like that Fury didn't inform her of me seeing as they seem pretty close.

I turned the screen to face her, "I'm playing angry birds." Her eye twitched and I suppressed a laugh, these agents sure are thick. "I finished a while ago, do you need anything?"

"The Director wants you on deck. You are to meet him and the Avengers in the debriefing room."

"So I get to meet the infamous heroes of the world."

"Worlds." Interjected Agent Hill.

"Pardon me, worlds, so soon?"

"The Director believes that it is a wise strategic choice."

I scoffed, "That does sound like him." I could see a grin tugging at the corners of the agent's lips. "I think I like you Agent Hill."

"The feeling is mutual." She replied. We walked down the hallway leading to the debriefing room in companionable silence.

We stopped outside a large door. "Wait here, he will call you in when he's ready." I nodded and she walked off to take care of her other duties. I sighed and leaned against the wall beside the door. I could make out the commanding voice of Fury as he ordered them to swear secrecy. I rolled my eyes, he sure was uptight about me being out, it's not as though half the ship didn't already see me walk onboard. I heard a cocky voice question Fury and get shot down quickly, then a distinctly female voice as she swore not to let slip any information. Other male voices followed her lead and soon enough the Director was debriefing them on me, not that they knew that of course, but it was still fun to hear their stunned silence. They haven't even had the pleasure of meeting me yet and they're already lost for words. Fury's amused voice cut into my thoughts,

"You can come in now, I know you've been listening." I grinned to myself and pushed off the wall. I stood in front of the door letting my walls slide firmly into place. Once I had composed myself I put my hand on the scanner and the door hissed open.

All heads in the room turned to stare at me as I entered. My ice blue eyes swept over the group, taking in their gob-smacked expressions. I grinned internally, I did tend to have that effect on people. I walked up to Fury with a stony expression, turning the full effect of my unusual eyes on him. What did he expect me to do now, dance, break into song? He knows how much I dislike attention yet he insists on putting me in theses situations. Does he have a death wish?

* * *

Tony's P.O.V.

We all turned when we heard the sound of the door opening, and lo and behold, in walk's a girl. A mere child in my eyes, all I could do was stare, open-mouthed. Fury has _got_ to be kidding. There is no way that she's the project, is there? Steve snapped out of it first and turned to stare at Fury incredulously.

He asked the question we were all wondering, "Director, is she the project?" Fury simply nodded. Steve went from baffled to angry in a few short moments, "She can't be! You have a teenager as a top secret project, that's inhuman, I thought I left all this behind when I defeated Schmitd." He uncharacteristically shouted, and for once I agreed with the Cap. He took a breath and turned to the woman, "No offence ma'am." Always the gentleman.

"None taken."

Steve's outburst brought us out of our state of shock. All eyes in the room were now glaring at Fury, a mix of confusion, concern and anger.

"What do you need me for pirate?" Inquired the girl in a monotone voice. That did it for me, I cracked up. I glanced over at Natasha and Clint taking in their disbelieving looks, they only served to increase my laughter.

"This, this is too much." I said between chuckles, "can I keep her?" I joked.

"As a matter of fact you can," replied Fury. My laughter cut off quickly and I began choking. "As of now, Artemis is part of the Avengers. You are all to stay at Stark tower until further notice." The girl, Artemis, turned her head so quickly I was afraid it'd fall off, her snow white hair whipping out behind her.

"Really? I can go into the city?" She said excited, that was the most emotion she had displayed so far. Then she paused quickly schooling her features into an unreadable mask. "Wait, did you just say I'm part of the Avengers? I never agreed to this!"

"And wherever did you get the idea that I had space or time to have them all in my tower? Was there a consent form I didn't sign?" I cut in.

"Stark is right," agreed Steve.

"See, even the capsicle agrees with me. And we all know how often that happens."

Fury brought his fist down onto the table, silencing us quickly. "Because I said so, that's an order." The girl looked put out but Fury brushed off her glare. "You are expected to train and develop as a team for when you are needed next. Get along or else." The threat hung in the air. "And Stark, you had a floor designed for each Avenger since you remodeled your tower. No excuses. You have three hours to pack your things and meet at the tower. You are dismissed." The girl stormed out of the room, the rest of us followed at a slower pace.

"Well. Damn." Said Clint.

"Yeah, damn." Agreed Natasha.

A thought suddenly hit me and I stopped dead in my tracks. "What's wrong Tony?" Asked Bruce a hint of concern coloring his voice. I gulped,

"What am I gonna tell Pepper?"


	7. Chapter 7: Why me?

**Hello! Next chapter, yay!**

**Once again unless stated otherwise the story is told from the perspective of Artemis. **

**It would be great to get a couple more reviews, only if you have the time of course. I would be greatly appreciated. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except my own brain children... **

* * *

I stomped down the corridor heading in no particular direction. I couldn't deny that I was excited to be able to go to the surface. To see once again the colors and feel the wind caress my hair and the sun's warm rays on my face. I was also beyond furious with the Director, what right did he have to force me into becoming an Avenger. I know I'm more than qualified, hell, I'm more qualified than Captain Glorious himself. But that doesn't mean that I want to be part of their little boy band. I read up on those in my spare time, not my cup of tea. I do realize that Natasha's a girl but she could probably whoop their behinds into next week if she wanted to.

I could feel the threat of frustrated tears prickling at the corner of my eyes. I can't cry, I _won't_ cry. I have no right, not after what I've done. I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn't realize I was headed in a collision course until I felt my face slam into something warm and incredibly hard. I fell backwards ungracefully landing on my butt.

"I'm so sorry, are you alright ma'am?" Inquired a concerned voice. I slowly looked up rubbing my nose wincing slightly in pain. My eyes were met with the worried blue orbs of the Captain. Oh joy.

"Yeah, I mean, yes I'm alright." As I was saying this I felt something warm trickle it's way down my chin and drip onto my hand. I looked down and found a spot of blood. As if that drop was the catalyst that broke open the floodgate blood began gushing out of my nose. I looked back up to the horrified face of the Captain. Crap.

" 'm al'ight. 'm gonna go get this che'k out." I tried to say and began to stand my hand attempting to staunch the flow of blood. My voice seemed to snap the Captain out of his trance and in one fluid movement he had me cradled in his arms in bridal position.

"I'm so sorry ma'am." I groaned in exasperation. "Hold on, you're going to be fine, just hold on." He said and hurried his pace. I rolled my eyes. Of course I would be fine. "Golly I'm sorry ma'am, I'm really sorry." This guy really needs to learn apologizing once was good enough.

We reached the medical bay in record time and he kicked open the doors startling the staff inside. Or he tried to kick down the doors but with his super strength they blew off their hinges.

He rushed over a bed and gently set me down. After their initial shock the staff swarmed toward me. Out of the corner of my eye I could see the captain being ushered out of the room by one of the nurses. His eyes were glued on me his face frozen in horror at what he'd done. I sent him a grin, hoping to reassure him that I was fine. It seemed to have the opposite effect as my mouth and teeth were coated in blood, his face fell further.

A male nurse, Thomas according to his name-tag, managed to pry my hand away from my nose. That's when the smell of anti-septic hit me. I felt my face drain of color and my hands begin shaking. I had to calm down. Breath in, breath out, breath in- oh god that's a lot of blood. So much blood, too much. The room swam in and out of focus as I fought to keep the memories at bay.

I vaguely heard someone, Thomas, yelling to the other nurses. I tried to tell them I was okay, that this happened all the time. That it should have been in my medical file they were probably privy to. But not a sound came out of my mouth. My head lolled to the side only to see a needle being prepped. I freaked out like a frightened animal caught in a snare. I heard someone calling,

"Sedate her!" That can't happen, I don't want to go to sleep, where I'll be trapped in my memories. I stopped moving and leveled a hard glare at the nurses. I saw them flinch and take a step back.

" 'm fine. Please jus' fix 'm nose." I said in a gentler voice. They approached hesitantly. After realizing I wasn't going to go berserk they released a collective breath and began icing my nose. The bleeding had stopped some time during my little relapse and the adrenaline began to wear off. I groaned into the ice, I was going to have a headache in the morning, probably a sick looking bruise to match.

Thomas shined a light into my eyes and did a series of other tests to check my vision. He asked a couple of questions all of which I answered correctly, if not with a little bit of my usual sass. I saw him grin after he asked if I could remember where I was and who I was working for.

"I'm on a flying death trap working for a grumpy pirate with a cruel sense of humor." The medical staff let out a chuckle.

"I know I'm not supposed to agree with you, it's probably somewhere in my contract, but I whole heartedly agree with you." I turned my head and flashed him a grin, I like Thomas, he's a cool guy. "That being said you have a concussion and probably a black eye, if not two. You need a few weeks of physical as well as cognitive rest."

"Wow, I was beginning to like you but you just ruined that image." I groaned while he chuckled.

"What can I say, I have a talent." He shot back causing me to grin and then wince as the action caused a spike of pain to shoot through my nose. I hopped off the bed, which was a huge mistake. I gripped the edge of a table as I swayed waiting as my vision cleared.

"We can release you, but only into the custody of someone else." I sighed as he said that. Who could I ask?

A female nurse by the name of Helen piped up. "The Captain is out in the waiting room, he's wondering if he can see you. We can release you to him." Before I could protest she was gone.


	8. Chapter 8: Let it go

**Hello everyone! Thank you to all those who started following and favoriting this story, it means a lot.**

**Here is the next chapter, yay!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything Marvel :(**

**I would love to hear where you guys think I'm from, leave your guess in the reviews and I'll answer in a couple of chapters.**

**Have a good week everyone! 3**

* * *

Rogers strode into the room behind the nurse Helen who was sashaying her hips in a seductive manner, the Captain however, was completely oblivious to her advances. I hid a grin behind the pack of ice I was still holding to my nose. As soon as he saw me he rushed over, very unprofessionally might I add.

"I'm so sorry ma'am are you alright?"

I opened my mouth to reply yes I was indeed alright. "Ye-"

Thomas however, had other ideas. "She has a mild, verging on severe concussion and a very bruised and swollen nose." I shot him a glare but he only grinned and shouldered on. "She needs to be released under someone's care seeing as though she has a concussion and can be a danger to others not to mention to herself." At that I huffed indignantly.

"I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself." But my body decided now would be a good time to betray me and I swayed. Both Thomas and the Captain's arms shot out to catch me, I caught myself on the bed and batted their arms away. "Fine. Maybe not at this moment but believe me when I say I can kick both your tiny backsides."

Both men chuckled at that but a hard glare quickly shut them up. "So Captain, Thomas here thinks that he could release me to you. Is that alright?" His head went on a swivel, looking from Thomas to me incredulously.

"I guess that's alright, we are headed in the same direction." He seemed to accept his job and gestured for me to walk ahead. I moved at a slow pace, the movement not helping my throbbing head. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Thomas handing Rogers a bottle of what looked like pills. Then leaned up whispered in his ear, I saw him nod then glance in my direction. Oh great, they're conspiring against me. They had seemed like such nice guys too.

The walk up to the hanger was awkward to say the least, neither of us talked, and the silence hung over us in an uncomfortable cloud. Soon enough we were boarding a waiting quinjet that took us down, back to the ground. At every bump of turbulence the jet hit made my head pound even harder. I never showed it though, I kept up my stoic façade.

As soon as we landed we were ushered into a black sedan, the windows tinted so that we could see out but no one could see in. Rogers held open the door for me and I reluctantly slid in, too tired to protest. The darkness of the vehicle was a welcome relief and I closed my eyes in contentment.

"Are you okay ma'am?" The Captain's voice cut through my drowsiness. I was tempted to ignore him, or grunt in a very un-womanly fashion, but I just sighed. "Yes I'm fine thank you for asking."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I'm sure."

"I really am very-" I cut him off right there, "If you're going to say sorry again then I won't be alright. You need to loosen up, it was an accident that could have happened to anyone."

"Yes, but if you had run into anyone else you wouldn't have gotten a concussion, or hurt for that matter. Damn super strength."

At that statement I couldn't help but let out a short breathy laugh. "It's not your fault, you didn't purposely hurt me, so let it go. I'm fine." He looked conflicted for a moment but covered it up quickly.

"We just need to stop by my place so I can grab a couple of things."

An Agent who was sitting in the back with us piped up. "No need sir, Director Fury was informed of your situation and took the liberty of packing a few items you will need from your home." I felt Rogers stiffen beside me but he thanked the Agent anyway.

* * *

As we entered the city limits I couldn't hold back a small gasp though my face remained impassive. Everything had changed so much, I know that time had passed I saw that much from the tablet. But nothing could prepare me for the shock of seeing the changes with my own eyes. It was early evening and the late night crowds were beginning to emerge the various bars cracking open the kegs of beer and the bottles of wine. The streetlights flickered on and the large screens placed on building walls and at shop windows were playing bright and proud. It was a lot to take in and I could feel my mask beginning to slip. I could sense the Captain watching me, observing my reactions probably trying to figure me out. He couldn't know that he wasn't the only one out of time.

"Amazing isn't it."

I had to agree, it was breathtaking in a urban way.

"There's Stark Tower, straight ahead."

He was right, a huge building rose in the middle of the city, towering above everything else. It was the ugliest thing I had ever seen. It perverted the beauty of the rest of the city. That is where I was staying so I guess I'll have to get used to it sooner or later.

The car pulled up out front of the building garnering strange looks from passersby. We stepped out, Rogers holding the door for me. I was grateful for the darkness once again as I had discarded the ice pack and the full carnage was on display. We stepped towards the entrance, towards a new start.


	9. Chapter 9: Welcome to the Avengers

**Sorry for waiting so long to update! Some weird stuff has been going on with the teachers union over here. So I'm not entirely sure if school's over yet or not.**

**Anyhoo I hope you all enjoyed father's day. It's soon summer so the updates should become much more frequent, and better in quality. The story will start picking up soon. **

**Question: Where do you think I'm from? Leave your answers in the comments!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing Marvel :'(**

**Have a great week everybody, I hope this chapter puts a smile on your face! 3**

* * *

We arrived almost four hours late. The glass doors of the lobby slid open as we approached. By now we had people openly gawking, but I couldn't blame them we made a weird couple. Duo. Group. You get what I mean. We made an odd pair. As we stepped into the entrance a wave of warm air washed over us. I strode ahead of Rogers my head down, trying my best to hide the damage visible on my face. I walked confidently toward the receptionist but stopped dead in my tracks when a voice from above interrupted me mid stride.

"Good evening Miss Artemis, Mr. Rogers. Sir and the others are waiting for you in the lounge."

My eyes, pardon me, eye, as the other was swollen shut, opened as wide as a saucer. Did Stark somehow manage to get God on the P.A system? I heard soft chuckling behind me and I whipped around, mouth agape. The Super Soldier, the man out of time himself was openly laughing at me completely unaffected by the voice from the heavens.

"I'm not God Miss, my name is JARVIS. I am sir's personal butler, babysitter and pretty much everything Miss Potts can't handle on her own." If I didn't know any better I would think that JARVIS sounded smug. Then I registered what he said and I could feel my face reddening. I must have spoken my thoughts out loud. Stupid concussion.

"The elevator is this way ma'am." Said Rogers gesturing towards the lift.

"I knew that." I huffed.

We walked towards the elevator and piled in, me in front as to keep my face hidden. I glanced up and groaned inwardly. There were a gazillion buttons and I had no patience for trial and error.

A large hand reached in front of me and poked the button labeled 36. The motion made the captain's sleeve slide up, revealing a small section of skin visible between his cuff and watch. Out of the corner of my eye I saw thin white lines weaving along his wrists almost invisible to anyone not looking from as close as I was. Scars, they didn't look self-inflicted and they were almost completely healed, but they were there. They told his story, all of his story, not just the glorified sacrifice disclosed to the public. Everything suddenly felt so much more real, all the time that had passed.

I squeezed my eyes closed ignoring the pain shooting from my nose and eye. The space inside the elevator suddenly became a lot smaller. The walls felt like they were closing in on me making my breaths come in little huffs. I needed to calm down. How many panic attacks can one person have in one day without looking pathetic? I don't want to look weak because I sure as hell aren't, I just need to get my bearings in this foreign world.

Annoying elevator music was playing loudly on the speakers, probably Stark's attempt at a joke. That self obsessed, vain, a-

The little ding of the elevator, reaching floor 36 interrupted my rant. We stepped out into a lavish hallway.

"This way ma'am," said Rogers directing me towards an open archway. I could hear the slurred voice of Stark coming from the room, a loud groan following suit.

"That wasn't funny Stark."

"Oh Legolas…you should see your face! Comedy gold right there folks. I'll be here all week." Stark said in between chuckles. "On second thought I'll be here all the time considering it is my house."

"I wonder what's taking Steve so long to get here, usually he'd be the first one here." Bruce spoke up in a soft voice.

"Yes I wonder where our Capsicle is, probably hitting it off with-"

That's when Rogers decided to step into the room, me hot on his heels. Stark whipped around staggering slightly. Our sudden appearance startled Bruce as well, who dropped his glass on the carpet, probably staining it. Any funny remark Stark was about to say caught in his throat as I stepped out from behind the Captain. A mischievous gleam settled in his eyes as he took in the full extent of my damaged face.

"Don't even think about it." I ground out. He opened his mouth anyway, the idiot. Faster than lighting I was standing in front of him.

"I dare you to finish that sentence." I growled. I was in a foul mood and his arrogant attitude wouldn't improve it.

"Tony," Bruce warned.

He ignored the warning and opened his mouth. I decked him there and then. I turned around to face the other Avengers. Shock once again masked their faces, though the red head was better at hiding it.

The archer shook his head begrudgingly and began clapping his hands. "Welcome to the Avengers."


	10. Chapter 10: Worth a thousand words

p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight:  
normal"span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:  
Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:Times New Romancolor:black"Hello everyone! Hope you all had a great week! :) Let's dive right into the story./span/strong/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:.1pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:.1pt;  
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normal"span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:  
Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:Times New Romancolor:black"In this chapter we get a little insight on the evil plot dun, dun, DUNNNN! I hope that it's easy enough to follow, if not put it in the reviews or something and I'll remedy my mistakes./span/strong/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:.1pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:.1pt;  
margin-left:0in;mso-para-margin-top:.01gd;mso-para-margin-right:0in;mso-para-margin-bottom:  
.01gd;mso-para-margin-left:0in;text-indent:.5in"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight:  
normal"span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:  
Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:Times New Romancolor:black"Disclaimer: I own nothing Marvel./span/strong/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:.1pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:.1pt;  
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normal"span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:  
Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:Times New Romancolor:black"Question: Where do you think I'm from?/span/strong/p  
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.01gd;mso-para-margin-left:0in;text-indent:.5in"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight:  
normal"span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:  
Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:Times New RomanR :)/span/strong/p  
div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center" align="center"span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial"span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial"/span/spanhr align="center" noshade="noshade" size="1" width="100%" /div  
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.01gd;mso-para-margin-left:0in;text-indent:.5in"span style="font-size:10.0pt;  
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color:black"Sunlight filtered through the curtains warming the room and stirring the sleeping occupant laying haphazardly on the bed. It was the break of dawn and even the big apple was quiet. The world seemed to be holding a collective breath, the metaphorical calm before the storm. A storm was brewing, one that could bring about the end of humanity./span/p  
div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center" align="center"span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial"span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial"/span/spanhr align="center" noshade="noshade" size="1" width="100%" /div  
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.01gd;mso-para-margin-left:0in;text-indent:.5in"span style="font-size:10.0pt;  
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color:black"In a laboratory deep within the hidden tunnels beneath the Kremlin in Moscow Russia a team of scientists were hard at work./span/p  
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.01gd;mso-para-margin-left:0in;text-indent:.5in" /p  
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color:black""When will the formula be done?" Demanded an imposing figure in heavily accented English./span/p  
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color:black""Soon sir, it's not yet ready for human testing the formula is to unstable, b-b-but it is only a m-matter of time until we produce a complete stone." Stuttered a stout man with balding hair./span/p  
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color:black""Does it look like I have time?"/spanspan style="font-size:  
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color:black" /spanspan style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:  
8.0pt;font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:Times New Romancolor:black"He growled. "I need it soon, he needs it soon. Those bastards will pay for what they did to me. I don't care what happens, start testing on the subjects or I will be testing it on you Doctor." And with a swoosh of his leather jacket he was gone./span/p  
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Times New Romancolor:black"a hand across his sweat covered brow he took a shaky breath. He reached into his pocket withdrawing a vial containing a glowing red substance./span/p  
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color:black""It's only a matter of time."/span/p  
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color:black"The warm glow of the sun gently caressing my face woke me up. I yawned and stretched rolling around on my bed. I burrowed my face into the silky covers and thought about the previous nights events./span/p  
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Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:Times New Romancolor:black"The archer finished clapping and stood up from the couch. "Well, I'm off to bed it's been an eventful day," turning to me he added, "I can show you your floor if you like." I nodded stiffly and followed him to the elevator. /span/em/p  
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Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:Times New Romancolor:black""Reeeally." He drew out the word raising an eyebrow in disbelief./span/em/p  
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Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:Times New Romancolor:black""Fine," I conceded. "I ran into mr. Patriot and earned a nice concussion as a result."/span/em/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:.1pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:.1pt;  
margin-left:0in;mso-para-margin-top:.01gd;mso-para-margin-right:0in;mso-para-margin-bottom:  
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normal"span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt;font-family:  
Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:Times New Romancolor:black" He blinked and then began laughing. It was my turn to look taken aback. He was gripping his sides and leaning heavily against the wall of the elevator as he guffawed. I took a step back in alarm. Did Fury overlook telling me that the archer was mentally unstable?/span/em/p  
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normal"span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt;font-family:  
Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:Times New Romancolor:black"JARVIS decided to intervene as we stopped at level 42. "This is your floor miss." I made a hasty retreat backing away from the still laughing archer./span/em/p  
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normal"span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt;font-family:  
Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:Times New Romancolor:black""Thank you JARVIS, you're a lifesaver." /span/em/p  
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Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:Times New Romancolor:black""No problem miss Artemis, your bedroom is the fourth door down the hall to your left."/span/em/p  
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normal"span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt;font-family:  
Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:Times New Romancolor:black""Thanks." I replied. I was suddenly overcome by a wave of exhaustion and trudged slowly down the hall. I absorbed very few details of the flat through my half lidded eyes. /span/em/p  
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p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:.1pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:.1pt;  
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normal"span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt;font-family:  
Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:Times New Romancolor:black" I reached the door and collapsed on top of the covers and was asleep before my head hit the pillow./span/em/p  
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color:black"br style="mso-special-character:line-break" / !- [if !supportLineBreakNewLine]-br style="mso-special-character:line-break" / !-[endif]-/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:.1pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:.1pt;  
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.01gd;mso-para-margin-left:0in;text-indent:.5in"span style="font-size:10.0pt;  
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color:black"I looked down and noticed I was still in my S.H.I.E.L.D jumpsuit from the other day. I glanced at the bedside clock and noticed that it was still very early. No way I was falling back to sleep, not when I had my new home to explore. I stood up and let the covers fall to the ground. But first, I thought, a nice warm shower. /span/p  
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color:black"I made my way towards the connected bathroom and noticed that there was a ratty looking suitcase tucked into a corner of the room. I walked over to it and picked it up, I flipped it over and popped open the lid. Inside there were some civilian clothes and other necessities. I pulled out a comfy looking sweater only to have something fall out of the sleeve. I bent down and picked it up. I smiled softly, it was a picture of a younger me with a teenage Fury. Coulson had snapped the photo when we weren't looking. In the picture my arm was rapped around his neck and my fist was giving him a good old noogie. Fury's face had a disgruntled look and I had on a huge smile, caught in the moment. /span/p  
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margin-left:0in;mso-para-margin-top:.01gd;mso-para-margin-right:0in;mso-para-margin-bottom:  
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End file.
